The Victoria BC Ska Society is a non-profit community organization of volunteers, staff and a board of directors whose main goal is to keep Victoria’s Annual Ska & Reggae Festival improving and evolving year after year. Our goal is to entertain, educate and unite audiences nationally and internationally through the artistic development of ska, reggae and other Jamaican rooted genres such as rocksteady, dub and dancehall. The Society also presents other musical genres connected to these aforementioned including but not limited to Caribbean, various styles of Latin music, soul, jazz and world beat.

All those involved in the Society have a burning passion for supporting the ska and reggae scene throughout Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland as well as Canada and the rest of the world.

Victoria Ska & Reggae Society Statement of Purpose

1. To present and nurture ska music along with its related genres- jazz, reggae, rock n' roll, punk, soul Latin, R&B and more - in Victoria and region, on Vancouver Island, across British Columbia and Canada as well as the world

2. To educate youth, communities and the general public about ska music and its related genres through a variety of methods including but not limited to the presentation of festivals, musical events, film, visual art, literature, and the press

3. To work with individuals, groups, non-profit organizations, businesses and governments throughout Victoria and region and across Canada in order to entrench ska music and its related genres into local and national culture

History

The Society was first incorporated as a non-profit society in November of 2003 and by the summer of 2004 became the presenter of Victoria's Annual Ska & Reggae Festival, which was previously produced by Enigmatica Entertainment and CFUV 101.9 FM.

The Festival is dedicated to the memory of Matthew Bishop, host and producer of the inspirational ska radio program Skankster's Paradise at CFUV 101.9 FM. His legacy still lives on through the festival today.

Over the years the Society has been proud to present such legendary and emerging artists of ska, reggae, hip-hop and RnB as Toots and the Maytals, Mos Def, Ken Boothe, Leroy Sibbles (The Heptones), Fishbone, members of Sublime, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Katchafire, The Black Seeds and Booker T Jones (of Booker T and the M.G.s).

Moving into our 18th straight year, the festival has grown to become the longest running of its kind in North America. Due to the unique programming offered through the festival, it attracts a strong audience from all over Western Canada, the West Coast and beyond.